RJHS Eastside Whirlwinds defeat WestsideRussellville Junior High School’s Eastside Whirlwinds had one final test before today’s River Valley Conference basketball tournament: the RJHS Westside Whirlwinds. The last time the two teams met, the East glided past the West, 50-40. This time the margin of victory was much larger, 43-27. Eastside (16-7, 8-5 RVC) head coach Matt Howerton attributed the boost in scoring to the return of Marquis Rhode, who tore his meniscus just before Christm...

Little Rock Hall sweeps RussellvilleLITTLE ROCK — The Russellville Cyclones put up a fight but couldn’t keep pace with Little Rock Hall on Friday night. The Warriors (20-5, 12-0 6A/7A-Central Conference) didn’t need their Color’s Day enthusiasm to put away the Cyclones, (10-16, 2-10) but it certainly didn’t hurt. Hall took command of the game in the second quarter and went on to thump Russellville, 82-44. University of Arkansas signee Bobby Portis, who scored 25 points in the ga...

Zepeda qualifies for state gymnastics meetCONWAY — Cynthia Zepeda of Russellville and a gymnast at Tena’s Gymnasitcs and Cheerleading, competed in the Sonshine Invitational Gymnastics meet in Conway on Feb. 3. Zepeda earned second place in the vault with a score of 9.1. She then moved on to the uneven parallel bars where she scored a 6.85, enough for fourth place. She finished on her strongest events, the balance beam and the floor, and won both with a 9.175 on the balance beam and a ...

Eastside Lady Whirlwinds capture overtime thrillerShelbi Thompson scored eight points for the Russellville Junior High Eastside Whirlwinds in the fourth quarter to help close a six-point spread and tie the game 36-36 against the RJHS Westside Whirlwinds during Thursday night’s East-West basketball games that marked the final games of the season for both teams. It only took one overtime for Eastside to square things away. After Westside’s Rachel Prochazka scored a jumper to make it 38-36, Emil...

Golden Suns dominate Lady TigersArkansas Tech’s Golden Suns dominated the Ouachita Baptist Lady Tigers during their tale of two halves inside Tucker Coliseum Thursday night. How dominant? Not only did senior Jessica Weatherford set the tone with her aggressive move to start the second half, she drained her second 3-pointer of her career with 14 minutes to go, as the Suns shot as high as 65 percent from the field in the quarter and went on to win 74-55. ATU (15-6, 12-3 Great ...

Wonder Boys hold off Tigers If the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys had any chance of beating the Ouachita Baptist Tigers on Thursday night, they had to contain OBU senior sharpshooter Austin Mitchell, who scored 27 in OBU’s 57-52 win in Arkadelphia and has averaged 19.4 points per game against ATU in their last seven games. Wonder Boys junior Kendell Pinkney of Dardanelle accepted the challenge, shut the sharpshooter down and held him to no points inside Tucker Coliseum. But A...

Cyclones force Rebs to surrenderThe Russellville Cyclones led by as many as 28 points during their 64-50 romp Tuesday night over the Fort Smith Southside Rebels — a far cry from the last-second 37-35 loss the Cyclones endured the last time the two teams met. According to Russellville head coach Codey Mann, the difference in Tuesday’s game was completed shots. “We just made shots this time,” he said. “We played with better intensity. We also changed from (a) regular man-defen...

Sport Briefs (Feb. 14, 2013)Cyclones baseball camp Saturday The Russellville Cyclones baseball team will host its annual spring training camp on Feb. 16 at the Gardner Indoor Facility. Arkansas River Valley baseball players ages 5-9 will meet from 9-11 a.m. for a two-hour hitting camp. Players ages 9-14 will have an option of choosing pitching, catching or hitting instruction from noon to 2 p.m. and from 2-4 p.m. The cost of each camp session is $25. Campers will spend t...

Grappling for stateRussellville High School senior wrestling Cyclone Doug Pehrson has body-slammed, grappled and pinned his way to a 35-1 record this season, a chance to win the 6A state meet and has put himself on the radar of more than one college. However, his success may have never occurred at all if it hadn’t been for the influence of his father. “I wasn’t interested in sports when I was younger,” Pehrson said. “My dad used to wrestle in college before he j...

Arkansas beats Auburn 83-75 for first road win AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — B.J. Young and Marshawn Powell made Arkansas feel right at home Wednesday night. Young scored 25 points and Powell had 20 to help the Razorbacks win for the first time on the road in an 83-75 victory over Auburn. The Razorbacks (15-9, 6-5 Southeastern Conference) had lost their first six road games but controlled this one down the stretch. “I thought our focus was great,” Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. “I could see it a...

Cyclones baseball camp SaturdayThe Russellville Cyclones baseball team will host its annual spring training camp Saturday at the Gardner Indoor Facility. Arkansas River Valley baseball players ages 5-9 will meet from 9-11 a.m. for a two-hour hitting camp. Players ages 9-14 will have an option of choosing pitching, catching or hitting instruction from noon to 2 p.m. and from 2-4 p.m. The cost of each camp session is $25. Campers will spend the day in small group instruction ...

Russellville, Pottsville swimmers prepare for district meetSPRINGDALE — The Russellville Cyclones and Pottsville Apaches swim and dive teams competed in the Springdale Har-Ber Invitational at the Jones Center. Russellville finished in eighth place, Pottsville 12th and the Lady Cyclones 10th The Cyclones were led by Chris Newby, who finished sixth in the 200-meter and fifth in the 100 backstroke. Joe Griffin came in sixth in the 50 freestyle and sixth in the 100 backstroke. Jenner Robertson swam to a 1...

Wonder Boys sweep No. 25 GriffonsSenior Cesar Abreu drove in six runs with three hits, junior Boone Weiss drove in three runs, scored three runs and junior Zac Johnson went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs as the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys baseball team swept the No. 25 Missouri Western University Griffons on Monday at Tech Field. In game one, ATU (6-4) opened up scoring with a sacrifice fly from junior Cole Fergus to bring Abreu home. In the second inning, the Wonder Boys score...

Lizards beat Bearcats in 4A-4 openerBOONEVILLE — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards survived the Mena Bearcats in the first round of the 4A-4 District tournament on Monday. After trailing 15-9 in the first quarter, the Sand Lizards battled to a 25-23 lead going into the half. The two teams played close throughout the third and fourth quarter, with Dardanelle only outscoring the Bearcats by two points. The Sand Lizards led 38-35 after the third period. “We are glad to have survived and ...

Lady Cyclones continue skidThe Russellville Lady Cyclones were looking for revenge against the Fort Smith Lady Rebels on Tuesday night when Southside traveled to Cyclone Gymnasium. The last time the two teams met in Fort Smith (18-6, 7-4 6A/7A-Central Conference), the Lady Rebels devastated the Lady Cyclones 65-25. Russellville (3-19, 0-11) will have to wait another year for payback. The Lady Cyclones lost 64-44 but put up more of a fight than they did during their last...

Sport Briefs (Feb. 12, 2013)Charity basketball game Feb. 23 at RHS The Russellville High School Class of 2013 After Prom Committee will host an alumni/celebrity charity basketball game that will tip off at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 inside Cyclone Gymnasium. Any former Cyclones or Lady Cyclones interested in playing basketball to raise money can contact David Prewett at dprewett@3wco.com or 880-6057 or Jami Mullen / Jim Mullen at mullenteam@centurytel.net or 967-8326. Former RHS coa...

Wonder Boys win second straightALVA, Okla. — Down by nine points with 16:20 left in the game, Arkansas Tech’s Wonder Boys outscored Northwestern Oklahoma State 31-13 and put an abrupt end to the Rangers’ seven-game winning streak at the Perecefull Fieldhouse with a 60-51 victory Saturday night. Arkansas Tech (12-8 overall, 9-5 Great American Conference), like the Golden Suns, not only earned their first win at NWOSU, but moved into sole possession of second in the GAC men’s...

Wonder Boys split vs. Missouri WesternSenior Scott Sammons hit two doubles and drove in four runs while junior Cole Fergus and senior Cesar Abreu both added three hits as the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys (4-4) earned a split against the Missouri Western University Griffons (1-1) Sunday afternoon, winning the opener 6-5 and falling 5-3 in the nightcap. In the first game, the Wonder Boys got on the board in the bottom of the third as Abreu scored on an error. The Wonder Boys added two ...

Ozarks sweeps Mississippi College on Senior DayOzarks Sports Information CLARKSVILLE — The University of the Ozarks Lady Eagles overcame a 37-31 halftime deficit and got a big 3-point shot from Ashley Hipps to earn a 71-67 victory over Mississippi College in American Southwest Conference play Saturday. Trailing 67-65, Hipps drilled a three-pointer with 1:23 remaining in the game to give Ozarks (11-12, 7-10 ASC) a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Hipps then went to the free throw with 11 second...